Electing
Parliament

The
MPs and the political parties in New Zealand’s Parliament — the
House of Representatives — are elected by the people to represent
us. Elections are held at least every three years. It is important that
you vote, because the laws passed by Parliament and the decisions made
by the government affect you, your country and the area in which you
live.

There is universal suffrage in New Zealand. All citizens and permanent
residents aged 18 and older have the right to vote. Every citizen who
is enrolled as an elector is eligible to be a candidate for election
as a Member of Parliament.

A political party that gains more than half the 120 seats in Parliament
at a general election can form a majority government by itself. If
no one party has an outright majority of MPs, two or more parties
with
a combined majority of seats can form a majority coalition government.
If no one party has an outright majority and no majority coalition
can be agreed upon, one or more parties can form a minority government
with
the support of other parties outside the government.

New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy. Our sovereign, the Queen
of New Zealand, is the Head of State. The Queen’s representative,
the Governor-General, has all the powers of the Queen in relation to
New Zealand. Although an integral part of the process of government,
the Queen and the Governor-General remain politically neutral and do
not get involved in the political contest.

Get yourself on the roll

Before you can vote, your name must be on the electoral roll. The electoral
roll is a record of all enrolled New Zealand voters that is kept up
to date between elections.

To register as an elector a person must be at least 17 years of age,
a New Zealand citizen or a permanent resident, and must have lived in
the country for at least one year at some stage during their life. You
must also have lived continuously for at least one month at the address
for which you apply to be registered.

Once you have enrolled as an elector, you must let a Registrar of Electors
know whenever you shift to a new address. You can do this
by filling in a 'Change of Address Request' form at any PostShop or
postal agency, or by updating your address on the electoral website,
www.elections.org.nz .

People who fail to advise their new address are removed from the electoral
roll and will need to re-enrol.

A roll for each General and Māori electorate is printed every
year (and twice in a general election year) showing each elector’s
name, address and occupation. Printed rolls are available for public
inspection at each Registrar of Electors’ office, PostShops, public
libraries and courthouses. Anyone can also check their enrolment through
the electoral website.

If you are of Māori descent and enrolling for the first time,
you can choose to go on either the General or the Māori electoral
roll. Once enrolled you cannot change the type of roll you are on until
the next Māori Electoral Option, which is held every five years,
after a census.

By going on the Māori roll you’ll be voting for a Māori
electorate MP instead of a General electorate MP. But everyone chooses
between the same parties with their Party Vote.

MMP is a Proportional Voting System

Under New Zealand’s proportional electoral system, each elector
can cast two votes, both of which are printed side by side on a single
ballot paper:

the Party Vote shows all the registered political parties that
have nominated a party list for the general election. Every voter
chooses among the same parties on the Party Vote, regardless of whether
he or
she is enrolled for a General electorate or a Māori electorate

the Electorate Vote is for an electorate MP to represent the General
or Māori electorate for which the voter is enrolled as an elector.

Voters need to know that, in general, each qualifying party’s
share of the MPs in the House of Representatives is decided by its share
of all the Party Votes. To qualify for a share of the 120 seats in Parliament
a political party has to win an electorate seat or at least five percent
of the Party Votes. So, for example, a party that wins 20% of the Party
Votes can expect to have 24 Members of Parliament.

If a party’s share of the Party Votes entitles it to more seats
than the number of electorate seats it has won, the party gets whatever
number of list MPs is needed to bring it up to the right total.

But if a party’s share entitles it to fewer seats than the number
of electorate seats it has won, it still keeps its electorate seats.
These are known as overhang seats and the total number of seats in Parliament
increases by that number until the next election.

List MPs come from the list nominated by each party before the election.
They are elected in the order they appear on the party’s list,
after deleting any candidates who won electorate seats.

Who does what?

Electoral administration is currently shared by three main agencies:

The Chief Electoral Office (part of the Ministry of Justice)
conducts elections and national referenda. It appoints Returning Officers
in each of the 69 electorates. Contact: chief.electoral.office@justice.govt.nz

The Electoral Commission is responsible for the registration
of political parties and the supervision of their compliance with the
requirements of the Electoral Act relating to election expenses and
disclosure of donations. It also allocates election broadcasting time
and funds to political parties and has a public information role. Contact:
info@elections.govt.nz
The Electoral Enrolment Centre (part of New Zealand Post) is responsible
for enrolling electors and keeping the electoral rolls up to date. It
also conducts the Māori Electoral Option. Contact: enrol@elections.org.nz